Small Batteries Equivalents, Replacements and Cross Reference Charts

With all possible electronic devices found at home, onboard fishing and leisure boats and vessels, camping and hiking electronics, everyday devices etc. it is sometimes hard to find the right new batteries to replace the old ones, especially if the devices are relatively old(er). Here is our list of various battery types, their equivalents and replacement, with few our comments regarding certain battery types.

Whenever replacing the batteries, use the batteries recommended by the manufacturer of the device and especially pay attention to battery type, size, chemistry, capacity, voltage, polarity and other features of modern batteries.

This sounds complicated, but generally, it is not. However, choosing proper batteries can save in the future plenty of time, effort, money and if your life depends on these batteries, good batteries can literally save your life.

And if you choose wrong batteries, such batteries can damage or destroy the device, can cause fire and can be really very dangerous ... So be careful - what every you do, it is your own responsibility...

Note: When choosing batteries, one must check size and chemistry, but also capacity, max drain current, max pulse current and similar - this is important for all of the batteries, but especially for rechargeable batteries.

Large capacity rechargeable batteries often have issues with maximum drain current (they are designed for low drain usage), while batteries designed to withstand large drain currents have relatively low capacity values - one more thing to consider when buying batteries.

Also, never, but really never charge one battery type/chemistry with the battery charger designed for some other battery type/chemistry.

Health hazard: small batteries, even if they don't contain mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals are very dangerous to human body if they get swallowed - electrolytes in human body close the electric circuit between the battery poles and that is very dangerous. That must NOT happen - if that happens, induce vomiting and dial 911 or some similar emergency service(s) and ask for further instructions! Please understand that this is VERY serious warning!

Button/coin cell batteries are commonly found in small devices like watches, remote controls, some small flashlights, wrist GPS units and similar.

There is a large confusion about these batteries, since there are several chemistries available with similar, but slightly different voltages and capacities.

Also, some manufacturers use designations for, for example, alkaline batteries to promote their silver-oxide batteries and vice versa.

For example: AG10 battery should be 'Alkaline G10' battery, and SG10 battery should be 'Silver G10' battery. However, AG** and SG** are both used for silver batteries, while AG** is mostly used only for alkaline batteries.

So, when buying these and any other batteries, be very careful to note the type/size of the battery, but also a chemistry.

There are several chemistries commonly found in these batteries: alkaline batteries, silver-oxide batteries, zinc air batteries and mercury oxide batteries. Note: these are non-rechargeable batteries.

Note that actual capacity depends on cutoff voltage, which is often device-dependent - this is one of the reasons why silver-oxide batteries are prefered choice for modern devices.

Mercury-oxide batteries contain mercury and are not in use anymore. They had very good capacity, but also slightly lower voltage.

Zinc air batteries are commonly used for pwering hearing-aid devices. Although they have slightly lower voltage when compared with silver-oxide batteries (1.4V vs 1.55V), their capacity is exceptionally good.

However, they are not commonly used in other electronic devices because they use wet/moist electrolyte and air. When electrolyte dries out, they stop to operate, meaning that when they start to operate, they operate for few weeks, at most. Not the best option for devices that must operate reliably, even after not being used for months or even years.

Alkaline batteries are cheap and reliable, and have decent capacity. However, their voltage drops over time and electronic devices requiring constant voltage to operate properly can have issues when used with these batteries. Small EDC flashlights and similar devices that don't require constant voltage, can benefit from their cheap price and reliable operation.

When compared with alkaline batteries, silver-oxide batteries have larger capacity and slightly larger voltage, but they also have rather constant voltage during operation, which is important feature when powering electronic devices. Also, they tend to cost little bit more.

For short: since there is only 0.05V difference between nominal voltages between alkaline and silver-oxide batteries, devices powered with alkaline batteries generally can be powered with silver-oxide batteries. On the other hand, electronic devices designed to be powered with silver-oxide batteries should be powered with such batteries and alkaline batteries should be used only if/when there isn't silver-oxide batteries available at the moment. IMHO, of course ... If possible, always check documentation that came with the unit and check allowed/recommended battery types.

Note: Amazon affiliate links open in the new windows, feel free to check them.

Cylindrical Batteries

Cylindrical batteries are group of perhaps the most common type of batteries.

These batteries include battery types like AAA, AA, C, D etc. and are commonly used for powering various devices, gadgets, toys etc.

There are several chemistries used in these batteries: Carbon-Zinc, alkaline, Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd), Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) etc.

All these batteries have nominal voltages between 1.2 and 1.6V and are generally interchangeable - we say generally, since some devices designed to be powered with rechargeable NiMH batteries, doesn't tolerate non-rechargeable 1.5-1.6V batteries. And vice versa.

Also, if you plan on changing the battery chemistry from old to new batteries, be sure to check the specifications of the device you are using.

Note: Amazon affiliate links open in the new windows, feel free to check them.

Again, never charge the batteries with the battery chargers NOT designed for such batteries. They may catch fire, explode etc. Seriously.

Lithium Non-Rechargeable 3V Button/Coin Cell Batteries

Lithium non-rechargeable 3V button/coin cell batteries are very popular batteries used for powering low current devices like watches, calculators, small EDC flashlights, for holding charge of memory modules in various devices like cameras, smartphones, as CMOS batteries on computer motherboards etc.

Lithium 3V batteries are non-rechargeable batteries, and they have exceptionally long shelf-life, with some models being able to operate even after 10 or more years.

Most popular models are CR1220, CR2025 and CR2032, but other batteries are used as well.

In recent time, lithium-ion 3.6V (sometimes designated as 3.7V) rechargeable button/coin cell batteries are being used instead of non-rechargeable lithium 3V (note missing '-ion' and lower voltage). Such lithium-ion batteries have very low self-discharge rate when compared with similar lithium-ion batteries, but they still have higher self-discharge rate when compared with lithium 3V batteries.

Personally, if you device is designed to be used with lithium 3V battery, don't risk the device (and probably some data of yours) by using lithium-ion 3.6V battery, if the manufacturer of your device didn't clearly stated that that device accepts both lithium-ion 3.6V (rechargeable) and lithium 3V (non-rechargeable) batteries!

Here is a cross reference chart of common lithium 3V coin cell batteries:

Note: Amazon affiliate links open in the new windows, feel free to check them.

Long Story Short: this article contains numerous warnings - batteries are not toys and they can hurt (to say the least!) people and pets and cause damage to the environment, used devices, homes, cars, boats, etc.

Choose replacement batteries wisely and if you are not sure, ask for professional help. For example, simple mail to the manufacturer of your device can clarify many things ...

CR1632 are manufactured by most popular and reliable brands and are easy to find. However, just note that they are often labeled not only as CR1632, but also as DL1632, BR1632, KL1632, ECR1632, KCR1632, etc.

Rechargeable lithium ion 18650 batteries are common power source choice for many electric and electronic devices often found on small and large fishing or leisure boats and even kayaks. Since their characteristics degrade over time, they must be occasionally replaced - and choosing right replacement can be a nightmare, but it shouldn't be! Also, after replacing with new batteries, old batteries should be recycled!

LR44, AG13, LR1154, SR44, 303, 357 etc. batteries are actually different names for the same small, button cell batteries commonly found in watches, different controllers and other modern 'gadgets'. This article is our guide to the LR44/AG13/LR1154/303/357 etc equivalent batteries, their chemistries and performances.

Recommend This Page

Search Deep Cycle Marine Battery

DeepCycleMarineBattery.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.